Pope begs sex-abuse victims for forgiveness in meeting

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis used his first meeting with victims of clerical sex abuse yesterday to offer his strongest condemnation of a crisis that has shaken the Roman Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis used his first meeting with victims of clerical sex abuse yesterday to offer his strongest condemnation of a crisis that has shaken the Roman Catholic Church.

The pope compared priests who abuse minors to “a sacrilegious cult,” while begging forgiveness from victims and pledging to crack down on bishops who fail to protect children.

By meeting with six victims from three countries, Francis was trying to demonstrate resolve — and personal empathy — to address an issue on which he has faced criticism in what has otherwise been a wildly popular papacy. While some advocates for victims praised the meeting, others dismissed it as little more than a publicity stunt.

Francis first greeted the six victims — two people each from Ireland, Britain and Germany — on Sunday after they had arrived at a Vatican guesthouse. Yesterday, he led them in a private Mass in a Vatican chapel, where he offered a strongly worded homily condemning an abuse scandal that began to surface decades ago. Francis also met with each victim in sessions that, in total, lasted more than three hours.

“Before God and his people, I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you,” Francis said during his homily, according to a text released by the Vatican. “And I humbly ask forgiveness. I beg your forgiveness, too, for the sins of omission on the part of church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse made by family members, as well as by abuse victims themselves.”

At least one of the victims who met with Francis left impressed. Marie Kane, 43, who endured abuse by a priest in Dublin, described the meeting as “pretty amazing” and told The Irish Independent that the pope “listened intently” as she spoke to him.

She said she told Francis that the church needs greater accountability, and that she will not feel that progress has been made until bishops who covered up the abuse have been removed.

Other victim-advocacy groups echoed that sentiment, arguing that the Vatican has done too little to create a strong, accountable system to prevent abuse and stop bishops from protecting abusive priests.